Laura noted that unlike some dive boats , the Belle Amie ’ s cages were constructed of stainless steel with soldered bars . It reassured her in the face of earlier news that a shark had penetrated the dive cage of another boat with cages made of weaker aluminum bars that were only bolted together . The Mexican government had responded with new safety requirements , basically to protect the sharks from inadvertently being trapped in unsafe cages , risking the safety of both sharks and divers .
The Belle Amie cruised overnight before anchoring . Cage diving began at 6:30 am . “ The anticipation was huge ,” Laura said . “ I ’ d waited two years to make this dive , and this was only one of two places in the world to do cage dives , the other one being off the coast of Africa . The water was incredibly clear and temperate in the high 60s to low 70s , the ideal environment for great whites .
“ I wore my dry ( diving ) suit , which allowed me to stay toasty warm even while staying in the water for up to four hours at a time . I added about 45-50 pounds to my weight belt so as not to bounce around , up and down , in the shark cage .”
“ Our air supply was maintained in the boat . We submerged with our regulators , connected by a breathing line to the surface with backup tanks in the diving cage , just in case . Several of us climbed into the dive cage and the divemaster stood in the cage on a platform just above us . First , the boat crew threw buckets of chum into the water to attract the sharks . They came , swimming alongside and directly at us , and then under and over our dive cage . Clink , clink , clink , it ’ s dorsal fin would hit the cage bars as it swam by .
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 gmhtoday . com
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